Classical Mythology in Context

Paperback | November 27, 2015

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Classical Mythology in Context encourages students to directly encounter and explore ancient myths, understanding them in broader interpretative contexts. Featuring a modular structure that coincides with the four main components of a classical mythology course--history, theory, comparison,and reception--chapters are built around one central figure or topic.

About The Author

Lisa Maurizio is Associate Professor of Classical and Medieval Studies at Bates College. She publishes on Greek religious practices, especially divination at Delphi. In addition, she has written several plays on classical themes, two of which have been produced by Animus Ensemble at the Boston
Center for the Arts: "Tereus in Fragments"...

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Table of Contents

PrefaceAbout the AuthorPART I: GODDESSES AND GODSGenealogy of Greek GodsTimeline of the Ancient Near East and the MediterraneanMap: Greece and Asia Minor1. CLASSICAL MYTHOLOGY AND CONTEMPORARY QUESTIONS1.1 What is a Myth?Myth, Legend, and FolkloreA Three-Point Definition of a Mythological Corpus1.2 What is Classical Mythology?Myths from Ancient GreeceMyths from the Ancient Near EastMyths from Ancient Rome1.3 How Do We Make Sense of Classical Myths?HistoryTheoryComparisonReception1.4 Why Study Classical Myths in the Twenty-First Century?2. CREATION MYTHS2.1 History: A Greek Creation StoryHistorical Settings of Hesiod's TheogonyHesiod's Creation Story: The TheogonyPrimary Source: Hesiod, Theogony2.2 Theory: The Social World Shapes MythsIvan Strenski, from "Introduction" to Malinowski and the Work of Myth2.3 Comparison (Levant): Creation Stories2.4 Reception: Titans in Modern Art 1.1-3.24Paul Manship, "Prometheus, the Light Bringer"Lee Oscar Lawrie, "Atlas"3. ZEUS AND HERA3.1 History: Order and RebellionZeusHeraZeus and Prometheus BoundPrimary Source: Aeschylus, from Prometheus Bound3.2 Theory: Finding Universal Meanings in MythsWendy Doniger, from The Implied Spider: Politics and Theology in Myth3.3 Comparison (Levant): Flood StoriesPrimary Source: Genesis 6-93.4 Reception: Leda and the Swan in Modernist ArtMarie Laurencin, "Leda and the Swan"William Butler Yeats, "Leda and the Swan"Hilda Doolittle (HD), "Leda"4. DEMETER AND HADES4.1 History: Life and DeathHadesDemeterPrimary Source: Homer, Hymn 2: To Demeter4.2 Theory: Myths Reinforce Social NormsHelene Foley, from "A Question of Origins: Goddess Cults Greek and Modern"4.3 Comparison (Mesopotamia): A Sumerian Mother GoddessPrimary Source: from "In the Desert by the Early Grass"4.4 Reception: Persephone in Contemporary Women's PoetryRita Frances Dove, "The Narcisssus Flower"Rachel Zucker,"Diary [Underworld]"Alison Townsend, "Persephone in America"5. APHRODITE, ARES, AND HEPHAESTUS5.1 History: Love and StrifeAphroditeHephaestusAresErosPrimary Source: Homer, Hymn 5: To Aphrodite5.2 Theory: How Myths Challenge Social NormsJohn J. Winkler, from "The Laughter of the Oppressed: Demeter and the Gardens of Adonis"5.3 Comparison (Mesopotamia): IshtarPrimary Source: The Descent of Ishtar to the Underworld5.4 Reception: Pygmalion in HollywoodPygmalionMy Fair LadyPretty WomanLars and the Real Girl6. ATHENA AND POSEIDON6.1 History: Wisdom and WarAthena's BirthAthena's Practical Intelligence and Men's ActivitiesPoseidonAthena and the City of AthensPrimary Source: Aeschylus, from Eumenides6.2 Theory: The Mind Structures Myth in OppositionsSimon Goldhill, from Aeschylus: The Oresteia6.3 Comparison (Egypt): Athena and the Goddess NeithPrimary Source: Unknown, from "Cosmogonies at the Temple of Esna"6.4 Reception: Athena as a Political AllegoryEugene Delacroix "Liberty Leading the People"Francois-Charles Morice and Leopold Morice "The Statute of Republic"Frederic Bartholdi, "The Statue of Liberty"Emma Lazarus, "The New Colossus"7. HERMES AND HESTIA7.1 History: From Herms to HermesHermes' HillsIthyphallic HermsBeardless HermesHestiaPrimary Source: Homer, Hymn 4: To Hermes7.2 Theory: The Mind Structures Myth in ArchetypesLewis Hyde, from Trickster Makes this World: Mischief, Myth and Art 7.3 Comparison: Egyptian Thoth and Greek HermesPrimary Source: "The Hymn to Thoth"Primary Source: Plato, from Phaedrus7.4 Reception: Hermaphroditus in Pre-Raphaelite ArtCharles Algernon Swinburne, "Hermaphroditus"Edward Burne-Jones, "The Tree of Forgiveness"Aubrey Beardsley "A Hermaphrodite among the Roses"8. ARTEMIS AND APOLLO8.1 History: From Adolescence to AdulthoodArtemisApolloPrimary Source: Homer, Hymn 3: To Apollo Primary Source: Homer, Hymn 27: To Artemis8.2 Theory: Myth, Ritual, and InitiationsKen Dowden, "Initiation: The Key to Myth?"8.3 Comparison (Anatolia): CybelePrimary Source: Xenophon, from "An Ephesian Tale"8.4 Reception: Actaeon and Daphne in Contemporary PoetryAlicia Stallings, "Daphne"Seamus Heaney, "Actaeon"Don Paterson, "A Call"9. DIONYSUS9.1 History: Encountering DionysusViticulture, Wine and FertilityTheater and MasksMystery CultsPrimary Source: Homer, Hymn 7: To DionysusPrimary Source: Euripides, from Bacchae9.2 Theory: Initiations and Ritual CultsEric Csapo, from "Riding the Phallus for Dionysus: Iconology, Ritual, and Gender-Role De/Construction"9.3 Comparison (Anatolia): Cybele and AttisPrimary Source: Catullus, "Attis"9.4 Reception: Dionysus as a God of the 1960sRichard Schechner, Dionysus in 69The Rocky Horror Picture ShowWole Soyinka, The Bacchae of Euripides: A Communion RitePART II: HEROES AND HEROINES10. ACHILLES: THE MAKING OF A HERO10.1 History: Defining Greek HeroesFive Traits of Greek HeroesHeroes in CultHeroes in MythHeraclesTheseusOedipusAchillesPrimary Source: Homer, from The Iliad10.2 Theory: The Plot of the Hero's StoryVladimir Propp, from Morphology of the Folktale 10.3 Comparison: Epic Heroes from Sumer to RomeGilgamesh and the Burden of MortalityAeneas and the Founding of RomePrimary Source: from"The Epic of Gilgamesh"Primary Source: Vergil, from Aeneid (Books 1, 7, 10, 12)10.4 Reception: Achilles and War PoetryPatrick Shaw-Stewart, "I Saw A Man This Morning"Randall Jarrell, "When Achilles Fought and Fell"Michael Longley, "Ceasefire"11. MEDEA: THE MAKING OF A HEROINE11.1 History: Defining HeroinesFive Traits of Greek HeroinesHeroines in CultHeroines in MythHelenClytemnestraHecubaMedeaPrimary Source: Euripides, from Medea11.2 Theory: The Plot of the Heroine's StoryMary Ann Jezewski, from "Traits of the Female Hero: The Application of Raglan's Hero Trait Patterning"11.3 Comparison: Medea in RomeSeneca's MedeaOvid's MedeaPrimary Source: Ovid, from Metamorphoses 11.4 Reception: African-American MedeaCountee Cullen, The Medea, and Some Other Poems Owen Dodson, The Garden of TimeToni Morrison, Beloved12. ODYSSEUS AND QUEST HEROES12.1 History: The Hero's QuestDefining a Quest HeroPerseusBellerophonJasonOdysseusPrimary Source: Homer, from The Odyssey12.2 Theory: The Quest HeroJoseph Campbell's MonomythSubjective Experience and the External LandscapeW.H. Auden, from "The Quest Hero"12.3 Comparison: The Hero's Journey to the Land of DeathGilgamesh and the Waters of DeathOdysseus in the UnderworldAeneas in AvernusPrimary Source: Vergil, from The Aeneid (Books 2-6)Primary Source: from The Epic of Gilgamesh (Tablets IX-XI)12.4 Reception: African-American OdysseusSterling A. Brown, "Odyssey of Big Boy"Zora Neale Hurston, Their Eyes Were Watching God13. IPHIGENEIA AND NEW HEROINES13.1. History: The Heroine's QuestChanging Definitions of Heroes and Heroines in Ancient GreeceThe New Heroine (and the New Hero)Iphigenia in Aulis and Among the TauriansPrimary Source: Euripides, from Iphigenia Among the Taurians 13.2. Theory: A Paradigm for the New HeroineApuleius' Tale of Amor and PsycheDefining the New Heroine in Anthropology and LiteratureL. R. Edwards, from Psyche as Hero: Female Heroism and Fictional Form13.3. Comparison (Rome): TheclaSaints and Martyrs in Early Christian CommunitiesNew Heroines and MartyrsThecla as a Christian HeroinePrimary Source: "The Acts of Paul and Thecla"13.4 Reception: Iphiengia in New York CityCharles L. Mee, Iphigenia 2.0Michi Barall, Rescue Me: A Postmodern Classic with SnacksCreditsGlossary/Index

Editorial Reviews

"The pivotal strength of Classical Mythology in Context is its inviting accessibility and ability to combine generalities with specifics. The author compels deeper reflection and stirs a desire to delve deeper into this heritage, into the enduring conditions of being human." --Edith Livermore, Loyola University Chicago